Glass door assembly



1968 R. T. CASEBOLT GLASS DOOR ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb, 23, 1966 INVENTOR. RALPH T. CASEBOLT d w w ATTORNEYS NOV. 12, 1968 c s o 3,410,026

GLASS DOOR ASSEMBLY Filed Feb. 23, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR RALPH T. CASEBOLT BY W ,2 2.4

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 0 3,410,026 GLASS DOOR ASSEMBLY Ralph T. Casebolt, 500 High St, Oakland, Qalif. 94601 Filed Feb. 23, 1966, Ser. No. 529,429 6 Claims. (Cl. 49-397) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A door assembly and method of mounting the same wherein a tempered glass panel has hinge means on one side edge thereof. Hinge structure which is initially perforate is cut to form notches for receiving the hinge means on the tempered glass panel. A hinge pin releasably couples the hinge structure and the hinge means to swingably mount the panel This invention relates to improvements in frameless glass doors and, more particularly, to the use of tempered glass panels in the construction of shower doors.

The present invention resides in an improved shower door assembly and in the method of installing the same which permits the practice of substantial economies not only with respect to lowered production and transportation costs but also by virtue of the fact that the assembly can be quickly installed without sacrificing its aesthetic structural qualities. The assembly itself includes a frameless panel of tempered glass having spaced hinge members secured directly to one of its side edges, the hinge members, in turn, being rotatably mounted by means of hinge pin structure on a severable extrusion which is notched to receive the hinge members of the panel. Thus, the extrusion forms still another hinge member and the panel is mounted for swinging movement with respect thereto thus rendering the assembly suitable for use at the entrance of a shower. The various components of the assembly are simple and rugged in construction and few in number to minimize production costs and can be readily packaged and moved to the installation site to thereby minimize costs of transportation.

The method of this invention includes the notching of the extrusion either before or after the same is mounted in place adjacent to the shower entrance and the mounting of the panel on the extrusion. Thus, the assembly components may be assembled at the job site and installed on a shower unit without requiring special skills on the part of the workmen installing the same.

Tempered glass panels are especially suitable for use as shower doors because they have high impact strength characteristics and are relatively unaffected by hot water or steam impinging thereon. In addition, such panels can be formed to have an attractive appearance, thus providing an aesthetic quality to a finished shower installation of which such a panel forms a part. By virtue of its strength characteristics, a tempered glass panel needs no reinforcing frame around its borders whereby, when used as a door, its structure is considerably simplified over that of conventional doors. Since various types of structure may be firmly secured to a tempered glass panel, such a panel is advantageously used as a shower door since hinge structure required for swingably mounting thesame may be connected directly to one side edge of the panel itself. Such hinge structure and other hardware are secured to the panel before tempering by the manufacturer, since it is practically impossible to do this after tempering.

With the use of preset hinge fittings in conventional construction, problems generally arise in mounting of a door to a formed frame. Alignment of the various hinge members is a tedious process. One of the principal objects of this invention is to provide in such a door assembly a hinge connection in which the first sections of the hinge are permanently mounted to the door at the factory. The second portion of the hinge assembly, comprising the elongated channel or extrusion formed with a longitudinal recess into which a hinge pin is removably mountable, is mounted as a portion of the door frame. The door is then aligned at its appropriate elevation whereafter sections of the channel complementary with the hinged members attached to the door are removed, generally by a simple sawing operation. Thereafter, the hinge section is merely fitted into the notch or cutout area of the channel and the pin inserted to provide the hinging interlock of the two members.

It is therefore the primary object of this invention to provide a shower door assembly of improved construction and a method of installing the same which permits a tempered glass panel to be swingably mounted in a manner to define the door portion of the assembly so that the advantages of tempered glass may be utilized in situations requiring a swinging door installation.

A feature and advantage of the present invention lies in the fact that the door may be mounted at selected elevations by merely selecting the appropriate portions for removal of the channel member, thus allowing a single door with pre-mounted hinge members to be mounted at various elevated positions at the election of the installer.

A further feature and advantage of this invention lies in the fact that the door will always remain in true alignment with the channel once mounted due to the fact that the pin-receiving bore of the hinge members mounted on the door are in registration with the pin-receiving section of the channel.

A feature and advantage of the present invention lies in the fact that a tempered glass door can be provided with pre-mounted hardware which is adaptable for flexible fitting to a door frame installation without the necessity of drilling or cutting the door subsequent to the tempering of the glass.

Other objects of this invention will become apparent as the following specification progresses, reference being had to the accompanying drawing:

FIG. la is a fragmentary, perspective view of the door assembly utilizing one form of the hinge and illustrating the tempered glass panel forming the door portion in a closed position;

FIG. 1b is a view similar to FIG. la but with the tempered glass panel in an open position;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the assembly looking in the direction of line 2-2 of FIG. 1a;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the assembly looking in the direction of line 3-3 of FIG. la; I

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross-sectional view of the assembly utilizing another form of the hinge;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, side elevational view of the assembly of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross-sectional view of a resilient closure member for the bottom of the tempered glass panel and illustrating its connection with such panel.

The door assembly of this invention while hereinafter described with respect to a shower unit, is suitable for use in a number of different applications. The invention, therefore, is limited only to the extent of the recitations of the claims appended hereto.

Door assembly 10 includes a generally rectangular door panel 12 having handle means 14 secured thereto and coupled to a wall or stationary support by hinge structure 16. Panel 12 is adapted for swinging movement into and out of a position closing the entrance to a shower defined by a pair of spaced, generally upright extrusions 36 and 56 more particularly set forth in detail hereinafter.

Since assembly is to be used with a shower, it is highly desirable that panel 12 be not only attractive in appearance but be capable of withstanding impact forces and a relatively large temperature gradient between its opposed faces. Tempered glass not only has high impact strength characteristics, but also it is not unduly stressed when hot water or steam impinges on one of its faces. These desirable qualities are provided for a glass panel by a tempering process wherein the panel is rapidly chilled after it is formed so that large compressive stresses are formed in the faces of the sheet. Thus, to break the glass, these compressive stresses must be overcome. For this reason, tempered glass has high impact strength and is relatively unaffected by a spray of hot water of steam directed thereon.

Handle means 14 includes a pair of handles 18 mounted on respective faces of panel 12 adjacent side edge 28. Each handle 18 has a base 20 and a lateral extension 22 integral with the base. A pair of fasteners extend through holes 32 in panel 12 and interconnect bases 20 whereby handles 18 are firmly held against respective faces 24 and 26 of the panel. Holes 32 are formed in panel 12 before the latter is tempered. Extensions 22 are spaced outwardly of panel 12 so that they may be manually grasped for opening and closing the door panel.

Hinge structure 16 defines one embodiment of the hinge unit of this invention and includes a pair of spaced hinge members 32 rigidly secured to the opposite side edge 34 of panel 12 for rotatably coupling the latter to extrusion 36. Hinge members 32 may be secured in any suitable manner to panel 12 but, for purposes of illustration, they are adhesively secured thereto, before panel 12 is tempered. Members 32 may also be secured by screw means extending through-holes in panel 12. To this end, each hinge member 32 has a transversely U-shaped portion 38 which receives between the sides of portion 38 and respective faces 24 and 26 rigidly attaches hinge members 32 to panel 12. A lateral portion 40 is integral With portion 38 and has a bore 42 therethrough. Bores 42 of portions 40 are in axial alignment with each other.

Extrusion 36 is comprised of a base 44 and a hinge section 46 integral with and extending laterally from base 44. The configuration of base 44 is such as to permit it to be secured in any suitable manner to a stationary structural surface defining one side boundary of the shower. In this respect, base 44 may be fastened by screws extending therethrough to and into an adjacent wall.

Hinge section 46 is transversely U-shaped and is provided with a longitudinal pin receiving recess 48 integral with one of a pair of spaced sides 49. Recess 48 is defined by a pair of arcuate sections 51 extending toward the opposite side 49 and thereby is located between sides 49. Section 46 has a pair of spaced notches 50 defining discontinuities in recess 48, notches 50 being adapted to shiftably receive respective lateral portions 40 and to permit the latter to rotate relative to extrusion 36, at least through an are sufficient to permit the shower opening to be alternately opened and closed. Bores 42 are axially aligned with recesses 40 and pin structure 52 is disposed within recess 48 and extends through bores 42, whereby panel 12 is swingably mounted on extrusion 16. Since recess 48 extends throughout the entire length of extrusion 36, pin structure 52 may comprise a single pin or rod which passes through both portions 42. On the other hand, structure 52 may be comprised of a pair of short pins which pass through respective portions 40 and are held in place in any suitable manner at the proper locations within recess 48.

Extrusion 36 is formed from a material which is severable, such as aluminum or the like, so that notches 50 may be for-med by selectively cutting hinge section 46 in accordance with the spacing between lateral portions 40 and the height of panel 12 above the bottom of the shower entrance. By virtue of this construction, extrusion 36 may be readied for installation at the job site.

Base 44 of extrusion 36 has a sealing strip 54 projecting laterally therefrom in the same direction as hinge section 46. Thus, face 26 of panel 12 will engage strip 54 when panel 12 is closed to thereby seal the junction between panel 12 and base 44.

Extrusion 56 opposed to extrusion 36 is in the normal path of panel 12 to provide a stop therefor.

One of the handles 18 has releasable locking means 62 thereon in the form of a spring-biased plunger 64 disposed within a bore 66 in the handle. Plunger 64 has a cam member 68 on its outer end, member 68 having a spherical outer surface which engages the opposite face of portion 58 when panel 12 is in its closed position. By pulling the handle on face 24, member 68 is cammed into bore 66 to permit panel 12 to be opened. Conversely, member 68 is snapped into its position shown in FlG. 3 when panel 12 is closed. Panel 12 has handles 18 and hinge members 34 rigidly secured thereto by the manufacturer. The panel and its hardware is thus an olf-to-shelf product of a given size and is ready to be mounted in place following the notching of extrusion 36.

As an initial step of the method, extrusion 36 is cut to define notches 50 thereof. This step allows panel 12 to be mounted at any one of a number of elevations as desired. The location of notches 50 can be determined from the actual panel length and spacing of the hinge members 32. This can be accomplished by placing panel 12 in close proximity to extrusion 36 and marking the latter at the notch locations. Then, the notches can be cut by cutting hinge section 46 to a depth sutficient to permit axial alignment of bores 32 and recess 48. Flanged bushings 41 are inserted into opposed ends of each portion 40 to avoid metal-to-metal contact and pin structure 52 is then inserted in place to complete the assembly. Panel 12 will always remain in true alignment with extrusion 36 since bores 42 are always aligned with recess 48.

The foregoing installation steps may be performed either with extrusion 36 mounted in place on a Wall surface adjacent to the shower entrance or before the same is so mounted. Extrusion 36 may be cleanly cut in an expeditious manner such that assembly 10, when installed, will have an attractive appearance. Extrusion 56 may be secured in place either before or after the mounting of extrusion 36 to the supporting wall or other stationary means.

FIG. 2 illustrates how extrusion 36 may accommodate panels of different lengths. In the full line representation, a relatively short panel has its hinge members interconnected to extrusion 36 in relatively closely spaced notches 50. The dashed line representation of the panel has a greater length so that notches 50 will be further apart.

The cost of packaging panel 12 for transporting it to a job site is relatively small since elaborate steps need not be taken to guard against breakage as is necessary with conventional glass shower doors. Also, extrusions 36 and 56 may be formed by well-known extrusion techniques and, if necessary, can be cut to desired lengths atthe job site. Handes 18 may be of any configuration and ornamentation as desired and a method for inexpensively coupling locking means 62 to one of the handles 18 may be devised.

A second embodiment of the hinge of this invention is illustrated in FIGS. 46 and includes a hinge section 146 provided with a pin-receiving recess 148 integral with one of a pair of spaced sides 149. Recess 148 is defined by an arcnate extension 151 projecting laterally from the above side 149. Hinge section 146 forms a part of an extrusion 136 which also includes a base 144 having a sealing strip 154 projecting laterally from one face thereof. Extrusion 136 is mounted on a wall 137 or the like by means of a transversely H-shaped bracket 139 which receives sides 149 of section 146. The manner in which bracket 139 and section 146 are interconnected and the way the same are secured to wall 137 are disclosed in US. Patent No. 2,739,674, entitled Door Frame Structure and this patent is incorporated herein by reference for such mounting details.

Door panel 12 has a pair of hinge members 132 in spaced relationship along one side edge thereof, members 132 being secured in any suitable manner to the panel. Each member 132 has an arcuate extension 140 which projects laterally therefrom as shown in FIG. 4 and is received within a corresponding notch 150 formed in extension 151, such as by severing the latter after section 146 has been coupled to bracket 139.

Members 132 and extrusion 136 are formed from a suitable metal such as aluminum or the like to minimize costs and to simplify the overall construction. To avoid metal-tornetal contact, a pair of non-metallic bushings 153 are provided for each member 132 respectively. Bushings 153 are preferably of nylon or the like so that they will be long-wearing and provide suitable bearings for the junction between members 132 and extrusion 136. It is to be noted that bushings 41 are essentially of the same construction as bushings 153 except that the lengths of bushings 41 may be different depending upon the axial length of the corresponding portions 40.

Each bushing 153 has a tubular section 155 and an annular flange 157 at one end of section 155. Section 155 is inserted into the corresponding end of extension 140 as shown in FIG. 6 with the corresponding flange 157 in abutting relationship to the end face of extension 140. Sections 155 of bushings 153 thereby receive pin 152, the latter having a length sufficient to extend simultaneously through both extensions 140.

The door assembly of FIGS. 4-6 is installed in substantially the same manner as door assembly 10. Initially, bracket 139 is coupled to wall 137 and a corresponding bracket for the opposite side of the entrance is also provided as described above with respect to assembly 10. Notches 150 are formed in extrusion 136 corresponding in length to the length of each of members 132. Clearance is provided to accommodate flanges 157 of bushings 153. It is assumed that members 132 will have been secured to panel 12 before the installation commences. Thus, it is a simple matter to insert bushings 153 in place, to position extensions 140 in notches 150 and then to insert pin 152 through recess 148 and extensions 140 along therewith. In this way, :panel 12 is swingably mounted on extrusion 136. The embodiment of FIGS. 4-6 is utilized in applications where it is desired to fit or Otherwise couple sides 149 to suitable mounting structure, such as bracket 139.

A flexible strip 160 is secured by a connector 162 to the bottom edge of panel 12 as shown in FIG. 7. Strip 160 is adapted to close the space between panel 12 and the bottom horizontal portion of the entrance which is to be closed by panel 12.

Connector 162 is constructed to avoid the use of fastening devices which extend through panel 12, such as pins, screws or the like. To accomplish this, connector means 162 includes a first, elongated section 166 having an internally threaded boss 168 and a second elongated section 170 having a hole 172 therethrough whereby a machine screw 174 may be threaded into boss 168 to interconnect sections 166 and 170. The upper extremity of strip 160 is thereby clamped to one face of panel 12 and depends therefrom to effect its closing action. Section 166 has an angular extension 176 which clamps strip 160 to an intermediate region of section 170 to further enhance the connection of the strip to the panel. A throughlike portion 178 is integral with section 170 and extends normally into the shower when panel 12 closes the shower entrance. Portion 178 serves to prevent water from moving down the corresponding side face of strip 160 when the panel closes the shower entrance.

While one embodiment of this invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications can be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A door assembly comprising: an elongated, first extrusion having an initially continuous, generally imperforate U-shaped hinge portion defining a pair of spaced sides, said first extrusionbeing provided with a longitudinally extending, pin-receiving recess adjacent to one of said sides, said hinge portion being cut to define a pair of spaced notches presenting partial discontinuities in said recess, said first extrusion adapted to be secured in an upright position; a frameless panel of tempered glass having a pair of opposed side edges, one of said side edges being adjacent to and extending longitudinally of said extrusion; a pair of spaced hinge members rigidly secured to one of said side edges, each hinge member having a projection formed with a bore therethrough, said projections extending laterally from said one side edge and being shiftably received within respective notches of said hinge section with the bores of said projections being axially aligned with said recess; pin means receivable in said recess and said bores for rotatably mounting said projections on said hinge section, whereby said panel is swingably mounted on said first extrusion; a second extrusion adapted to be mounted in an upright position spaced from the upright position of said first extrusion to define therewith an opening, said panel being swingalble into and out of a position closing said opening when the extrusions are mounted in their upright positions and when said pin means is received within said recess and said bores, the opposite side edge of the panel being adjacent to said second extrusion when the panel is disposed across said opening; means carried by the panel and the second extrusion for yieldably retaining the panel across the opening; bushing means between the first extrusion and each hinge member to maintain the latter out of engagement with the first extrusion; a flexible strip; and means securing the strip to the lower edge of the panel to dispose the strip in depending relationship thereto.

2. A door assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein said strip is normally horizontally disposed, said strip securing means including a pair of rigid sections engaging respective faces of the panel, and means releasably interconnecting said sections to clamp the top margin of the strip to the lower margin of said panel.

3. A door assembly as set forth in claim 2, wherein the interconnecting means comprises a fastener coupled to the sections at a location spaced from the panel.

4. A door assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein said panel retaining means includes a spring biased cam carried by the panel and yieldably engaging one side of said second extrusion.

5. A door assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein said recess is defined by structure between the sides of said hinge portion.

6. A door assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein said recess is defined by structure secured to one of the sides exterio-rly of the space between the sides.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,164,228 1/1965 Segre 49397 1,944,440 1/ 1934 Lehman 49488 2,163,566 6/1939 Blessen. 2,284,074 5/ 1942 Stahl. 2,316,528 4/1943 Miles. 2,428,731 10/ 1947 Abrams 49488 2,752,014 6/1957 Watson 49397 2,818,146 12/ 1957 Palmieri 49397 3,296,743 1/ 1967 Curl.

KENNETH DOWNEY, Primary Examiner. 

